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Audoen's a very touchy King. He sends people to the scaffold on a whim. |  | |
| - Caldemeyn, pg. 105, The Last Wish (U.K. edition) | |||
Audoen was a self-appointed king of Hengfors[1] and Arcsea.[2] Originally managing Arcsea on behalf of his father, the governor under Kovirian sovereignty, Audoen seized the opportunity during the massive power struggle in the 1210s[N 1] and carved out a realm for himself, declaring Hengfors and Arcsea independent from Kovir and Poviss[3] while still taking advantage of the protectorship of Kovir's king[4] Idi.[2]
Biography
Son of the governor
Born into a line of Arcsean governors subject to the House of Thyssen, Audoen received responsibility for the region from his father while still young.
When the grave news regarding his father's death during the Defenestration of Hengfors reached him, Audoen was in the Blaviken region, hunting pirates alongside the troops given by local petty nobility and Alan Korber, the castellan of Tammerfors. Hearing about the death of Hengfors' margrave, the assembled knights swore allegiance to Audoen who set forth to annex Hengfors. When the city saw the approaching army, its meager garrison outright refused to obey the councilors and opened the gates.[3]
King in Hengfors
Now a king, Audoen spent the following years tediously strengthening his post. Hengfors' markets ran red with the blood of his father's killers. Castellan Alan of Tammerfors got promoted to count and granted an estate in the capital for his help. The pirates plaguing Arcsea and the Braa estuary were routed at last. Confident Idi of Kovir could not invade, Audoen reached for the crown–which the archpriest of Kreve put on his head gratefully due to Audoen's generous funding of a cathedral in Hengfors.[3]
The king recognized the merit of having two chivalric orders, the Knights of the Rose and the Knights of the Stirrup, roaming his domains and thus endorsed their actions while ensuring that neither of the two would overpower him.[3]
In 1225, Hengfors signed the Peace of Barefield with either the King of Kaedwen or the Margrave of Kaedwen's Western March, establishing the border between Hengfors and Kaedwen along the Kestrel Mountains and a part of the Braa River.[4]
Not all went splendidly for Audoen. Intending to add Creyden, he accepted Princess Renfri, deprived of her inheritance, as a vassal. As such, he gave her a letter of safe conduct bearing his seal which asserted that she acted with royal blessing–even if the word "maltreat" got misspelled as "maltreet". Alas, she died by the sword of witcher Geralt of Rivia during the infamous butchering in Blaviken.[2] His idea to reach for Yamurlak upon King Abrad's death failed as well because Radovid IV, whose army was greater and whose dynasty had closer claim, outrun him. The king, however, hadn't lost heart. After all, both Crinfrid and the princes of Malleore accepted his protectorate.[3]
His campaign to rule over Caingorn flourished into success further into the 1240s, ending the era of the House of Ademeyn and the kingdom's dependance on Kaedwen. As it turned out, Audoen wouldn't see more conquests. Near Vattweir, his troops got crushed by Henselt's many times larger military. When the remnants of Hengfors' army fled through the Kestrel Mountains, stones fell from under the king's horse and he died before the guards could reach the bottom of the ravine.[3]
Legacy
Upon Audoen's death, his son Niedamir inherited Caingorn while King Vizimir II incorporated Arcsea into Redania.[1]
Appearance and personality
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It was affixed by Audoen, your merciful lord. That's why I don't advise you to maltreat me. Irrespective of how you spell it, the consequences would be lamentable. | | |
| - Renfri to Caldemeyn, The Last Wish (U.K. edition) | |||
As a king, Audoen was very concerned with his authority. If someone disobeyed him or went against a decree, flaying and hanging were two options they could count on.[2]
Notes
- In The Price of Neutrality premium module, Merwin Ademeyn bears a letter of safe conduct from King Henselt with similar misspelling.
- In The Lesser Evil comic, his name is misspelled as "Auoden".
Footnotes
- ↑ According to dynastic descriptions, the Secession of Poviss occured early in Esterad Thyssen's youth, placing it in 1210s or early 1220s. The first variant is chosen in The Witcher Thursdays about the history of Hengfors.